Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an inventive trumpet and cornet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance. With his instantly-recognizable gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes. He was also skilled at scat singing (vocalizing using sounds and syllables instead of actual lyrics).
Renowned for his charismatic stage presence and voice almost as much as for his trumpet-playing, Armstrong's influence extends well beyond jazz music, and by the end of his career in the 1960s, he was widely regarded as a profound influence on popular music in general. Armstrong was one of the first truly popular African-American entertainers to "cross over", whose skin-color was secondary to his music in an America that was severely racially divided. He rarely publicly politicized his race, often to the dismay of fellow African-Americans, but took a well-publicized stand for desegregation during the Little Rock Crisis. His artistry and personality allowed him socially acceptable access to the upper echelons of American society that were highly restricted for a black man.
Armstrong was born and brought up in New Orleans, a culturally diverse town with a unique musical mix of creole, ragtime, marching bands, and blues. Although from an early age he was able to play music professionally, he didn't travel far from New Orleans until 1922, when he went to Chicago to join his mentor, King Oliver. Oliver's band played primitive jazz, a hotter style of ragtime, with looser rhythms and more improvisation, and Armstrong's role was mostly backing. Slow to promote himself, he was eventually persuaded by his wife Lil Hardin to leave Oliver, and In 1924 he went to New York to join the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. At the time, there were a few other artists using the rhythmic innovations of the New Orleans style, but none did it with the energy and brilliance of Armstrong, and he quickly became a sensation among New York musicians. Back in Chicago in 1925, he made his first recordings with his own group, Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five, and these became not only popular hits but also models for the first generation of jazz musicians, trumpeters or otherwise.
Other hits followed through the twenties and thirties, as well as troubles: crooked managers, lip injuries, mob entanglements, failed big-band ventures. As jazz styles changed, though, musical purists never lost any respect for him -- although they were sometimes irritated by his hammy onstage persona. Around the late forties, with the help of a good manager, Armstrong's business affairs finally stablilized, and he began to be seen as an elder statesman of American popular entertainment, appearing in Hollywood films, touring Asia and Europe, and dislodging The Beatles from the number-one position with Hello Dolly". Today many people may know him as a singer (a good one), but as Miles Davis said: “You can’t play nothing on modern trumpet that doesn’t come from him."
The 62-year-old Armstrong became the oldest act to top the US charts when "Hello Dolly" reached #1 in 1964. Four years later Satchmo also became the oldest artist to record a UK #1, when "What a Wonderful World" hit the top spot.
C'es Si Bon
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lovers say that in France
When they thrill to romance
It means that it's so good
Oh, c'est si bon
So I say it to you
Like the French people do
Every word, every sigh
Every kiss, dear
Leads to only one thought
And it's this, dear!
Hmm, it's so good
Nothing else can replace
Just your slightest embrace
And if you only would
Be my own
For the rest of my days
I will whisper this phrase
My darling, c'est si bon, oui oui!
The lyrics to Louis Armstrong's "C'est Si Bon" essentially describe the feeling of being in love and how it's so good that it's almost impossible to replace. The first few lines reveal that "c'est si bon" is a phrase often used by lovers in France to express the sheer joy and excitement they feel when they're in love. The singer, who may very well be Louis Armstrong himself, goes on to say that they're saying this to their lover just like how French people do - emphasizing the importance of the phrase and the language itself.
As the song goes on, the singer describes how every word, sigh, and kiss leads to only one thought - the love they have for their partner. They emphasize that nothing else can replace the feeling of being in their lover's embrace and that they wish for their lover to be theirs for the rest of their days. The repetition of "c'est si bon" throughout the song serves as a reminder to the listeners of how good love can be, and how it's something that should be treasured and recognized.
Line by Line Meaning
Hmm, c'est si bon
Ahh, it's so good
Lovers say that in France
Romantic couples in France use this expression
When they thrill to romance
When they're feeling the excitement of love
It means that it's so good
It signifies that things are going really well
Oh, c'est si bon
Oh, it's so good!
So I say it to you
That's why I'm saying it to you now
Like the French people do
In the same way the French folks say it
Because it's oh-so good, ba-ba-doo, doo day
Because it's awesome, ba-ba-doo, doo day
Every word, every sigh
Every single word, every little sigh
Every kiss, dear
Every kiss, my love
Leads to only one thought
Results in just one idea
And it's this, dear!
And that is, my dear!
Hmm, it's so good
Ahh, it's so good
Nothing else can replace
Nothing else can be a substitute for
Just your slightest embrace
Not even your lightest hug
And if you only would
And if only you would
Be my own
Belong to me
For the rest of my days
For the rest of my life
I will whisper this phrase
I will quietly recite this expression
My darling, c'est si bon, oui oui!
My beloved, it is so good, yes yes!
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, BEUSCHER ARPEGE
Written by: Henri Betti, Andre Hornez
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Anonymous
on What A Wonderful World
What A Wonderful World - Casey Abrams - Lyrics
I see trees of green
Red roses too
I see them bloom
For me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
I see skies of blue
And clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Singing how do you do
They're really singing
I love you
I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They'll learn much more
Than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Musical Interlude
The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Singing how do you do
They're really singing
I love you
I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They goin’ learn much more
Than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
I think to myself
What a wonderful world